This may be the last time we see Harvey as a Starter for the New York Mets. Barring injury to the rotation, Mickey has to strongly consider sending Harvey to the bullpen. The man once referred to as the Dark Knight, is playing a lot more like those guys in the hockey pads.

With Jason Vargas coming back off the DL, Harvey knew he was pitching to keep his spot in the rotation. Last night in what was certainly a “prove myself” game for him and he came out completely flat. He gave up 3 runs in the first inning and another 3 in the third. He ended his night giving up 6 Runs in 6 innings, with 8 hits and 4 Strikeouts. According to Anthony DiComo, who is the Mets beat writer for MLB.com, tweeted Met’s skipper “Mickey Callaway won’t commit to another start for Matt Harvey right now.”

Harvey was once the future and face of the franchise, and has had maybe the highest fall from grace in New York of all time. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. In 2013, Harvey was a top 5 pitcher in baseball. The following offseason he needed Tommy John and missed a year but came back and pitched very well in 2015, helping take the Mets to the World Series. It seemed like the Mets would have Matt Harvey, 2014 Rookie of the Year Jacob DeGrom, and Noah Syndergaard who was a rookie in 2015 for the foreseeable future. Fear struck much of the MLB when thinking about having to face the Mets for the next decade with a rotation that was originally supposed to rival the Braves 90s pitching talent of Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine.

But when the 2016 season came around Harvey just wasn’t right. His velocity was down, and there was no confidence and authority in his pitching. It was the beginning of the demise of the Dark Knight. Two years later and Harvey is nowhere near the player he was in 2015 and is not a glimpse of the 2013 version of himself.

So the question becomes what’s next? Could he go to the bullpen? Well he sure as hell doesn’t think so. So does that mean he gets sent down to AAA? If Mickey simply thinks its a mechanics issue then maybe a move to AAA to figure his stuff out would be best. But if you’re like me and youve been watching Harvey pitch since his dazzling 2012 rookie year, then you know it’s probably between the ears. If you didn’t watch Harvey pitch from 2012-2015 you won’t understand what his demeanor was like on the mound. He loved being the most dominant pitcher. He wants the cameras on him when he strikes out 10 over 7 innings. He would take games over and there was nothing the batters could do about it. He would sit courtside at Knick games with his supermodel girlfriend. He was the talk of the town and its what drove him. He pitched like a guy from the 80s, never afraid to go inside, knew when he needed to brush guys back, or even plunk em. He was truly the Dark Knight in every sense. So when a superstar like him drops from where he was to what he has become, its hard to get back on top.

For the first time, I actually think we will never see the Matt Harvey of old. There was always part of me that thought he just needed to get healthy and have a full season under him after all his injuries. That’s honestly what I thought when I saw him last year. I would say to myself, “okay he’s just recovering from his surgery, but hell be alright”. Then when Spring came around I felt vindicated. He pitched well enough to have the media and fans like myself buzzing and looking forward to the next Harvey Day. And Harvey Day was here during his first start of the season. He went 5 IP with one hit and no runs. I watched him walk back into the dugout thinking to myself, “is this actually it? Is he really back?”. But since that start he’s had two straight games of 4 runs allowed and then last night he gave up 6. The dream is dead. It not gonna happen, and maybe I was naive to think it ever would.

I don’t know what to do with Harvey and I don’t know if Mickey does either, but I do know that with the start the Mets have gotten off to and the overall talent of this team, we can’t afford to have him go out there throwing this poorly every 5th day. What do you guys think the Mets should do with Matt Harvey? Let us know in the comments below and as always Lets Go Mets.